Not a Secret Anymore
by ThatShipWillNeverSink
Summary: Fred and Hermione have kept this secret for a long time but when circumstances arise, Hermione has to choose between revealing it or loosing him forever.


It was half past four in the morning when Hermione knew it was time. She spend two weeks going over every memory, every little detail, whilst listening to everyone else. None of them worked. No one managed to find that special memory.

Slowly, she walked across the waiting room towards his room. She stopped before the door and turned her head towards Ginny, who was the only person left awake. Receiving the encouraging nod she desperately needed, Hermione opened the door.

She is the only person who has not been in the room yet. It was a small, white room. There were two arm chairs. One placed against the window, facing the now open door. George's sleeping form can be seen through the dim moonlight. The other one was placed beside the bed. Quietly, she sat down in said chair. This is the first time she has seen Fred in two weeks. Despite the preternatural paleness, he appeared just how he was around Hermione. Peaceful and vulnerable. A single tear was brushed off with the tip of her thumb.

Meanwhile, George opened his eyes. He heard movement around the room. He blinked a few times and soon he recognized the blurry figure to be Hermione. It dawned on him that she has been the only one who so far has not talked to Fred. He glanced out into the lighted hallway and met Ginny's eyes. She smiled lightly and began to get up. Soundlessly she made her way to the door. Leaning against the door frame, she focused her attention on Hermione.

Oblivious to what was happening around her, Hermione began to softly speak.

"Hello Fred. It's been a while don't you think. Two weeks today since I last saw your eyes. You know how much I love them. Two weeks since I last heard your voice, your laughter. So please understand how much I have suffered throughout this time. Every single time someone different entered this room was like a spark of hope. Just like every time they left, I felt my heart break just slightly bit more.

At first you most likely thought why I have not come and visited. Then you would have realised that it is me we are talking about. You understand that I hate diving into a deep ocean unprepared. So the last few weeks I have been thinking. Hearing all those astonishing memories about how great of a brother, son and a friend you have been were so joyful to hear but they were just that. Happy memories. When the doctor said 'significant memory', she did not necessarily mean that it was only meant to be happy.

I relieved every memory we had together, good and bad. There were so many, I could not settle on one like the others. I realised that every single moment we had together was special. But telling you every moment would take too long and I only have about an hour before the healer comes in to check on you. So how about I will tell you three turning points that are most sacred to me. They may not be in chronological order but I feel like I should leave the most important for last."

_December, 1995_

_Hermione checked her watch once more. He was late. Again. To be honest she was not surprised. He was always late. That did not stop her from getting irritated every time he did so. 5, 10, 15 minutes and so on. It was 40 minutes later that she decided that he would not show up. Now she got angry. He was late, yes, but never stood her up. She began to walk away, muttering curses under her breath. _

"_Her-mion-e" She spun around. There he was. Both hands on his knees, obviously out of breath. Fred raised his head and winced. Not many people have had Hermione Granger's fiery glare directed at them. Those who have, namely Harry and Ron, did not wish it upon it anyone. He now realised why. It made you feel – like shit basically. Fred honestly did not mean to be late - this time. He fell asleep in the dormitory. Yes the excuse is crap but he had nothing else to say for himself. Now that had control over his breath, he stood up. Despite towering over his girlfriend, he felt very small under her gaze. _

"_I am so sorry Hermione. I really-" _

"_-didn't mean to. I overslept. I had to finish homework. I had Quidditch practice. I forgot I had detention. Which one is it this time? Or will I be hearing a new excuse today because frankly these are getting old" _

_Hermione did not know why it bothered her so much. It was a very petty thing to get worked up about. It's just that it happens all the time! It would honestly be nice if he could just once turn up on time. _

_Fred guiltily turned his gaze to the ground and started shuffling his feet. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. This always happened. She would always feel guilty. She could never stay mad at him for long. Damn it! _

"_I hate you for this you know. I hate the fact that I can never stay mad at you for longe-"She was cut short when Fred pushed her against the wall and his lips attacked hers. The kiss was passionate, full of lust and desire. It was a few minutes before Fred pulled back. They were both panting. _

"_You were saying?" He smirked. He loved catching Hermione off guard. _

"_I don't remember." She replied. "However, I am still waiting for that date you promised me" _

_For a moment Fred was not sure what she was talking about. Then he realised that this was their date night. Or he left her a note in her book telling her to meet him by the Room of Requirement at 10 o'clock. He stepped back and extended his arm to her. She smiled and played along, weaving her arm through his. _

_In a middle of an empty, but cosy room stood a single round table. The area was lit by floating candles and soft music was playing in the background. The couple spent the evening laughing and exchanging stories. _

_At one point, Fred stood up and offered his hand to Hermione. _

"_May I have the honour of this dance?" Despite feeling uneasy about dancing, Hermione accepted his hand. _

_The melody of How Long Will I Love You began to play as the couple appeared to float. Hermione could not take her eyes of his blue one. She might have not said those words then but he heard her loud and clear. That was the moment Hermione Granger realised she had fallen in love with Fred Weasley._

"Until this day I'm not sure why I never uttered those words. The way I explain it to myself now is that somehow those three words would have broken the spell of that moment. That I simply could not find the right words to express my feelings. Which brings me to my second memory. This is much more recent"

_Bill and Fluer's Wedding, 1997_

"_You know, the more we sneak around, the more they are going to notice" Hermione said whilst Fred trailed kisses down her neck. The ceremony is now over and the celebrations are in full swing. Fed could no longer contain his desires. As soon as her saw Hermione in that dress, he wanted nothing more than to rip it off. However, since that would cause a scene, which Molly would definitely not be happy about, he impatiently waited. Now that everyone was occupied with that or the other, no one noticed the disappearance of Fred and Hermione. Fred reluctantly pulled away and faced his worried girlfriend. It's not that they didn't want to go public because they did. They just never could find the perfect time. _

"_Oh please. In order for them to notice anything would mean overlooking whatever is going on between Harry and Ginny. Frankly, it is quite convenient that they decided to focus their attention on them. It makes everyone oblivious to us." _

_Hermione could only stare. She now saw what influence she had on Fred. He is no longer the prankster from school years. No, he is mature, independent man. A man that she loves. This time it was her who could not stop her desires. She hungrily kissed his lips, memorizing every feeling. They knew their time is running out. Finally, they managed to pull away. It felt like years that they started into each other's eyes. _

"_I want to have at least share one dance with you today Hermione Granger. Shall we?" He stepped backwards and offered his arm. Hermione smile remained whilst they walked towards the busy dance floor. _

_A slow, romantic song was playing. Hermione recognised the song to be by a muggle singer. She remembered her mother's love to this is song. From This Moment On played whist they danced, ignorant to any curious gazes that were on them. In that singular moment it was just the two of them. They didn't have to hide what they are for that one bit. _

"_I'm in love with you" he declared quietly._

"_Fred"_

"_I am" he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the honestly in his blue eyes "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself of the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labour has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you."_

_This was the first time he ever said those words. He had a way with words that left her speechless. She knew that she would never forget that single declaration. One does not simply forget something like this. _

_This was going to be it. She was going to say it now. No matter how much she tried, those words would never be as poetic but he would hear them aloud. She opened her mouth – _

_Then everything was a blur. Hermione was pushed away from Fred. Her instincts kicked in and she searched for Ron and Harry. That was it. Harry, Ron and Hermione were on the run. That was the last time they saw one another or even spoke for months. And the single thing that haunted Hermione from that wedding is that she never said I Love You back. _

"I never forgave myself for that hesitation. I memorised the words you said to me. They were what kept me going when everything was falling apart. You gave me the strength to carry on when I wanted to give up. Your words saved me. Now I will be returning the favour"

Hermione smiled to herself.

During this, the audience have expanded. Ginny was now stood beside George. Molly, Ron, Bill, Charlie and Harry have all woken up and silently entered the room. They could not believe the story they were hearing. No one even suspected that there was this love blossoming in front of their eyes. Not one single eye was free of tears.

"Those instants are so vital to me. But despite their magic, they are not that significant memory you need. No, it must be something deeper. A scene that would be essential for all those moments to happen. After I comprehended this, it was very easy to pinpoint exactly the right moment. It was our first fight. Not one of those petty fight about you getting into trouble, or those that I had with you and George. It is not even our first fight as a couple. No it was a while before that. It was that fight during the Yule Ball"

_Yule Ball, 1994_

_Hermione could not help her tears. She honestly hated Ron sometimes. He had a tendency to be such a prat. She was used to this behaviour from him. But this was different. This hurt more. It made her feel worthless. _

_It was long after the Ball has finished. The last of people were now walking back to their beds. Viktor left a while ago. She didn't mind. She rather be left alone for now. Obviously, luck was not on her side tonight. _

"_Date ditched you, Granger?" As she was sat on the steps, Hermione had to raise her head quite high to look at the person. It was a Weasley twin. Fred to be specific. Fantastic. Just what she needed. As she got rid of one Weasley, another appeared. _

"_Not in the mood Fred" she replied coldly, hoping it would make him go away. Instead it seemed to only make his smirk bigger. _

"_Touchy. I guess I was right. Don't worry Granger, there are plenty of other fish in the sea" He finished with a wink. In other circumstances, she would blush in embarrassment. Instead, she got red with anger. She wasn't sure what brought it on. It might have been the night's effect all together, the comments she constantly hears or everything that she had buried inside. Whatever it was, it decided it would take it out on Fred. Angrily, she stood on the step so she didn't have to constantly look up. _

"_Listen here you annoying prat. I have had up to here with you all. For your information, my date did not ditch me. I made him go because I wanted to be left alone. Why? Because your damn brother has been a major pain in the ass lately. I wanted a quiet minute to myself but you decided you need to bring your 2 cents into everything. _

_You have no idea how much I am through with all of you. All those comments, jokes, teasing has gone beyond the point of being funny. Frankly, it's just plain insulting now. Therefore I would highly appreciate if you could just leave me alone!" _

_Fred did nothing to hide his shocked expression. He was trying to think of ways to calm this fiery women in front of him. _

"_Look, I'm sorry Hermione. I was only joking" Apparently that was the wrong thing to say._

"_Everything is a joke to you, isn't it? You and George constantly cracking jokes. We are real people Fred! We- I have feelings! Feelings that get hurt whenever you make some stupid immature joke or pull some sort of annoying prank on me. Whilst you get a laugh out of it, I cry myself to sleep each night, knowing I have been even more humiliated. So stop being such a heartless, insensitive, uncaring dick and pull your head out of your ass, it's not a hat!"_

"_I'm going to stop you right there. You said your bit, now it is my turn. I honestly, from the bottom of my heart apologize for any pain, emotional or physical, I might have caused you. But don't you dare" At this point he started walking, making Hermione twist and tread backwards. She did not stop until her back hit the wall "say that I'm heartless. I care about my family, friends so damn much. I would die for every single one of them. So don't you dare make assumptions about me. _

_All those jokes and pranks, I thought that they would make you loosen up a bit more. You are always so uptight. I wanted to make you laugh. You do it so rarely but when you do, it brightens up the whole room. Those are the only times when you actually speak to me. I have been trying so hard to get your attention for the last-" _

_He never got to finish his sentence. Hermione couldn't take the tension anymore and acted on her impulse. Which apparently was to snog him until her forgot what he was saying. Their first kiss was intoxicating. Their lips moved in sync, bodies pressed together. They simply couldn't get enough of each other. Eventually, they had to pull away. This time, Hermione blushed in embarrassment. She couldn't help it. Meanwhile, Fred was unable to stop a smirk. He didn't believe that this just happened. _

"_Well Granger, that was certainly unexpected"_

"_Shut up" She pulled him by the neck back to her lips. Fred was definitely liking this new Hermione. They kissed for a long while. Hermione pulled away and frowned. _

"_You better stop calling me Granger now. It's so annoy-"This time Fred cut her off short. _

"_Shut up" Hermione managed to only smirk into the kiss. That moment they we're not sure where this would lead them, but it didn't matter. They would get there, eventually. _

"So this is it. I still cannot believe that I did that. It's just so shocking. I was never allowed to hear the end of teasing from you. You simply love bringing it up.

Things appeared so much simpler back then, don't you think. We were young, we didn't worry about the war. We didn't worry that that moment might be our last. All that mattered was you and I.

I remember before the war and the fear, I quite enjoyed reading muggle novels. I had to put that on hold when we were on the run and everything. Anyway, I was looking through my old house the other day. You know how much I did not want to go back home. But there was something in the back of mind telling me I should.

I only had enough strength within me to go back to my room. Oh how I missed it. All the memories. I was looking through my bookcase, you can guess it took me a long while. And I found something. It was a play. I much prefer novels as you know but in the rare occurrence I did read this play."

Hermione took it out of her bag and placed it on her lap. It appeared old and worn.

"It belonged to my mum. She very much loved the idea of illusions, lies and hunger for power in the books she read. One of her all-time favourites was this play "A Streetcar Named Desire". I love romance myself which is why I never considered reading this before. But something persuaded me to. There is this one bit in particular that I cannot get out of my head. The character who said this may not have had a happy ending, but she did manage to describe how I feel.

"_He was a boy, just a boy, when I was a very young girl. _

_When I was sixteen, I made the discovery – love. _

_All at once and much, much too completely. _

_It was like you suddenly turned a blinding light on something _

_that has always been half in shadow, _

_that's how it struck the world for me."_

Love. Such a simple motion that many take for granted. Not I, though. I dreamt of a love that would consume me. Become me. The love that happens only once in your life time. And I found it thanks to you. Therefore, I cherish every moment, every kiss, and every touch. Because Fred Weasley – I love you. I have always loved you. I love you more and more everyday if it's even possible to love someone that much."

She stopped there to compose herself. She let the tears flow freely now. She got up and placed a tender kiss on his lips. A few tears dropped onto his cold face. She straightened up and looked behind her. She knew they were listening. She heard some movement a while back but she simply ignored it.

She couldn't say a single word. Instead, George started strolling towards her. Tightly, he embraced her. A few of his own tears fell on her hair.

"Thank you Hermione. For giving my brother this amazing love. He is an incredibly lucky guy to have found you."

He stepped away and looked towards the bed. The room was silent. Every pair of eyes was either on Fred or Hermione. And then it happened. The slight twitch of fingers. The movement of eyelids. A smile appeared on Hermione's face as she saw those blue eyes she missed so much.

* * *

><p><strong>Diclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter characters or TFIOS<strong>

_Let me know if you would like this one-shot expanded into a full story (prequel or what happens after) or another one shot :D_


End file.
